Through an arched entryway lies the DGS garden, a half-acre shared community green space where residents can rent a plot and grow stronger neighborhood bonds right alongside their vegetables, herbs and flowers (photo by Kathryn M. Miller).
On a somewhat overcast mid-September morning, a half-acre corner lot in Phoenix is buzzing with life. Neighbors quietly come and go, tending to their garden plots. A light breeze rustles through the trees and sends the wind chime singing; birdsong accompanies the chime while bees float from plant to plant, enjoying the hushed morning and the bounty of the garden. Welcome to Dig it, Grow it, Share it (DGS) – a community garden founded in 2019 in the Citrus Heights neighborhood near Indian School Road and 28th Street.
When the garden founder Jenna Pierides came across the lot in July 2019, the parcel had been vacant for more than a decade after the home was demolished. She was engaged in a leadership course and her idea was to build a garden that would bring the community together.
The lot was a tangle of overgrown weeds and landscaping, but it had big trees and a lot of potential. Pierides contacted the California investor who owned the parcel and they agreed on a lease – $1 per month. She pulled in neighbors and developed the 22,000 square-foot lot into a neighborhood garden space, DGS.
Today, there are 26 fully rented garden spaces – sized 4×8 feet and 6×12 feet – and four mini plots, along with a specialty garden, compost area, a fire pit area and other gathering spaces.
“My plot is an absolute mess,” laughed Ayshica Andrews, president of DGS since 2023. It has been another brutal summer, and she says that one of the biggest issues for gardeners in Arizona right now is the weather, “It’s just not cooling down at all at night and it’s really affecting the vegetation – it can’t recover.”
Andrews has gardened for about 15 years, but after moving to Phoenix and apartment life, “I was getting depressed,” she said. “I just had to just get my hands back into the soil.”
She talked to a friend who told her about DGS, “So, I reached out to Jenna and I got started in here and then the next thing I knew I was taking over.”
Gardening is absolutely a way of life for many, including Andrews.
“When I first started gardening, my goal was to grow my own food and medicine. Here we do a lot of medicinal herbs along with culinary herbs. I always encourage people to do a mix of food, veggies and the herbs just for the overall health of the garden and to bring in those pollinators. And I don’t think people realize how much is actually edible.”
Despite the heat, the garden still has plenty of life in it as the caretakers prepare for the transition into fall. As Andrews walks around the garden, she points out the various plants. There is okra, squash, cucumbers, luffa, basil, eggplant, tomato starts, Egyptian spinach, corn, watermelon (which she hopes will perk up for the fall) and varieties of amaranth, among others. There is even cotton growing – planted to show younger neighbors where it comes from.
“Fall is the easiest season in Arizona for planting and it’s one that’s most exciting,” Andrews said. “Speak to any of our members right now and they’re all itching to get things done. So, we’re prepping our soils right now.”
In late September, early October, gardeners are planting starts of culinary herbs; sunflowers and Zinnias are growing. Moving into mid-October, she suggests leafy greens. Arugula and radishes are quick to produce and do well from seed; Brassicas like cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, rutabagas are excellent, along with cilantro, dill, parsley and fennel. And don’t forget to plan for spring blooms. Whatever flowers you want to see blooming in spring can be sown now, she said.
“If you want to do something really quick that is low effort, throw out a handful of flax seeds and just turn it in lightly. They’ll bloom come springtime. Chamomile is another one – just toss seeds out when it rains, they’ll come up and you’ll never have to plant chamomile again.”
And for those who might be interested in pursuing a community garden in their neighborhood?
“First, you want to find your space; find out who owns it. And then you need to get the neighbors behind you. It takes a lot to get something like this going. You need money, you need lots of volunteers, you need materials, so you need businesses to get behind you. And then those people that are really interested in building community – who want to get to know each other and want a green space – they are just going to come along and fall into line and do what they need to.
“For us, we’ve gotten things to where it’s just a maintenance thing right now and our members are all very engaged in that.”
No matter how small, though, “I would really encourage everyone just start – just grow something,” Andrews said. “There’s so much reward in being able to do that. And I think it’s a skill that we really need. Being able to grow your own food is huge, especially with everything that’s happening in the world right now.”
Visit www.dgsgarden.org to learn more about the DGS garden.
